NORFOLK, Va. — A federal judge will wait at least another week before making a decision on the future medication and competency of Eric Brown, the man accused of abducting and killing Ashanti Billie.
Brown is diagnosed with schizophrenia and is currently being involuntarily medicated at Butner Federal Medical Center with one anti-psychotic drug.
He's been considered incompetent to stand trial for 18 months.
Federal prosecutors said they want to add another anti-psychotic drug to treat Brown’s mental illness, which may require a court order due to Brown's refusal to take medication.
Logan Graddy, a psychiatrist at Butner FMC, said the current treatment is not enough for improvement and won’t restore his competency.
Graddy testified in favor of multiple polypharmacy approaches that would involve additional medication, saying he would closely monitor Brown's reaction to a two-drug approach.
During Tuesday's hearing, defense attorneys argued that the single-drug approach is the correct way forward. Their expert psychiatrist witness testified that even though the current involuntary treatment is not likely to restore Brown's competency, more medication could have dangerous side effects.
The situation is complicated by Brown’s refusal to take oral medication, which both experts said could help significantly.
The judge ordered both sides to prepare written summaries of their opinions within the next seven days and present those summaries to him. He'll then issue his order about any future involuntary medication of Eric Brown.
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